After a US plane makes an emergency landing, 270 passengers spend the night at a Canadian military base
Over 200 passengers of Delta Airlines, based in the US, were compelled to spend the night on a secluded Canadian military base after their flight, Delta Flight 135, made an emergency landing due to a technical issue. The plane, carrying 270 customers, three pilots, and seven flight attendants from Amsterdam to the US, was diverted to Goose Bay Airport, a remote facility in Newfoundland, Canada, on Sunday, as a precautionary measure, according to an airline spokesperson.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the incident, citing problems with deicing equipment reported by the pilot, who diverted to Happy Valley-Goose Bay Airport in Canada around 3:15 p.m. local time. Happy Valley-Goose Bay, located on the northeast coast of Canada and home to a Canadian Air Force base, facilitated the emergency landing with its long runway.
A passenger, Aditi Shankar, described the urgency of the landing and mentioned that the passengers remained on the plane due to the cold temperature outside. She highlighted the challenges faced by several passengers without jackets and having not eaten a proper meal for over 15 hours.
Following the emergency landing, the passengers were stranded overnight as Delta's scheduled rescue flight faced obstacles, leading to crew timeouts. Passengers recounted issues with the replacement aircraft, which could not take off due to weather and runway conditions affecting crew duty times. Canadian customs accommodated passengers in groups at military barracks. Shikha Joshi, a traveler with a four-year-old, described the situation on social media, detailing the wait for accommodations and the subsequent transfer to a different aircraft after a brief rest.
A second rescue flight was dispatched to Goose Bay on Monday, bringing the passengers to Detroit over 24 hours after the emergency landing. Delta Airlines apologized to the customers and committed to compensating them for the inconvenience.
